Sustainable Fashion : A Generation Z Perspective

Abstract: Background: Increased awareness of the climate crisis leads to sustainability becoming moreimportant to many people as the actions made today will have a large impact on futuregenerations. Generation Z is soon to be the largest consumer group globally, where most peopleare interested in implementing sustainable lifestyles. Gen Z will soon hold a powerful positionas fashion consumers and has the ability to drive positive changes for societies globally. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to study consumer attitudes and behaviour towardspurchasing sustainable fashion products on the Swedish market. The group aimed to be studiedincludes people over the age of 18 in Sweden that belong to generational cohort Z. Method: The method used for this research is exploratory, taking on an inductive approachand collecting qualitative data through 10 semi-structured interviews with people between theages of 18-27 in Sweden. The findings from the data emerged from thematic analysis. Conclusion: The results show that there is a genuine concern for the climate and the future ofthe planet among the cohort, which also has an impact on the attitude. Despite the positiveattitude towards purchasing sustainable fashion products, there is an existing gap between thepositive attitude and consumer behaviour. The accumulated value from factors such as price,style, and availability is often higher than the sole value of an item’s sustainability factor.